Harlem Nights

Harlem Nights

Ships in 4 to 7 days

  • $34.78
    Unit price per 


Author: O'Connell, Deirdre
ISBN: 9780522877649
Publisher: MELBOURNE UNIVERSITY PUB
Year First Published: 2021
Pages: 424
Dimensions: 233mm x 154mm x 25mm
Format: Paperback / softback

Description
The untold story of race and power in Australia's Jazz Age.

The 1920s were a time of wonder and flux, when Australians sensed a world growing smaller, turning faster-and, for some, skittering off balance. American movies, music and dance brought together what racial lines kept apart. A spirit of youthful rebellion collided with the promise of racial perfectibility, stirring deep anxieties in white nationalists and moral reformers. African-American jazz represented the type of modernism that cosmopolitan Australians craved-and the champions of White Australia feared.

Enter Sonny Clay's Colored Idea. Snuck in under the wire by an astute promoter, the Harlem-style revue broke from the usual blackface minstrel fare, delivering sophisticated, liberating rhythms. The story of their Australian tour is a tale of conspiracy-a secret plan to kick out and keep out 'undesirable' expressions of modernism, music and race. From the wild jazz clubs of Prohibition-era LA to Indigenous women discovering a new world of black resistance, this anatomy of a scandal-fuelled frame-up brings into focus a vibrant cast of characters from Australia's Jazz Age.

We Also Recommend